No. 44: Monsanto

Monsanto Logo
DiversityInc Lists

Also:

  • No. 9 in The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Recruitment & Retention
Why It’s on the List

Chairman, President and CEO Hugh Grant has been a visible diversity leader. He personally signs off on executive compensation tied to diversity and regularly meets with the company’s resource groups. Diversity goals are part of executive-performance reviews as well. Grant personally signs off on goals and achievements for supplier diversity and has been a community leader in the St. Louis area.

Monsanto’s formal cross-cultural mentoring program is available to all employees. The top three levels of management participate, and mentoring relationships are formally evaluated every six months. The mentoring program has formal follow-up and measurable goals for assessing success. Benefits of participating in the mentoring program are also communicated internally.

Monsanto has 13 resource groups that are funded by the company and are allowed to meet during the workday. The groups regularly communicate with each other and use the company intranet to communicate with all employees. Senior executives are members of each group, and the groups are used to identify and nurture management talent. Additionally, the company uses the groups to augment marketing efforts to their communities, to help in on-boarding new employees, and for mentoring. The groups assist in diversity-training initiatives, specifically around cultural competency.

The company offers monthly diversity training. Metrics are in place to measure the success of training, and specific training is provided for new employees.
Diversity Leadership
Hugh Grant Photo Hugh Grant
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer:“As we work towards our goals of producing more with less and improving the lives of a growing population, we need varied and innovative thinking at every point in our business. Agriculture affects every single person on Earth; to be successful Monsanto must be as diverse as everyone we touch.”
Michele Holton Photo Michele Holton
Chief Diversity Officer:“At Monsanto diversity is ingrained in our culture; it is as a competitive advantage that drives innovative results for our customers. Appreciating different ideas and experiences and engaging in respectful and open dialogue is critical to individual and company success.”
Company Information

U.S. Headquarters: St. Louis

Global Employees: 20,600

U.S. Employees: 9,967

Last Year’s DiversityInc Top 50 Ranking: No. 41
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